Closure



Filed Jan. 21, 1954 ARNEYs.

nited States Patent O CLOSURE Karl E. Baumann, Mount Prospect, lll., assignor to Baxter Laboratories, Inc., Morton Grove, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application January 21, 1954, Serial No. 405,308

3 Claims. (Cl. 21S- 46) This invention relates to a closure, and more particularly to a closure adapted to be employed with solutions or `other liquid products. The invention is particularly useful in connection with a liquid container of the type shown in Campbell Patent No. 2,236,491.

This application `is a continuation-impart of my copending application, Serial No. 382,807, tiled September 28, 1953.

In the structure shown in Campbell |Patent 2,236,491, there is provided an inner cap or metal sleeve which is secured to the neck of a bottle and which engages a ilexible sealing disc on the top of the apertured rubber plug in the neck of the bottle. A second or outer cap of met-al is then `employed to enclose the inner cap, the disc, and a metal disc which is placed over the resilient disc. The structure of the patent is excellent, and the same has been used commercially for many years on a wide scale. However, the structure involves the use of two metal caps and a metal disc, and requires the placing of these multiple parts in position in the assembly operation.

There has long been a need for a single cap structure which would have the advantages of the earlier structure described above, while at the same time saving metal and much of the labor of -assembly caused by the multiplicity of parts.

An object `of the present invention is to provide a single cap having the above advantages and resulting in the saving `of material and labor. Another object is to provide a single closure or cap structure and a container in which the closure is formed from a single strip of metal while at the same time providing all of the advantages of the multipiece structure heretofore employed. A still further object is to provide a means and a method for closing a container through the employment of a single strip `of material while providing simple integral means for opening a portion of the closure to expose the closure area therebelow and retaining the rubber plug or other sealing structure firmly within the container. Other lspecific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a closure or cap embodying my invention and shown applied to the top of a container; Fig. 2, a perspective View of the cap showing an initial step in the cap-forming operation; Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional View of the structure shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a second step in the operation in whi-ch the central portion of the cap is partially severed; Fig. 5, an enlarged sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a perspective view of a cap `showing a third operation in the process of forming the cap shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 7, an enlarged sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a perspective View showing a iinal step taken in the forming of the cap; Fig. 9, an enlarged sectional view of the structure Patented Apr. 2, 1957 shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10, a top plan view of the completed cap or closure; and Fig. 11, a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing a modified preferred form of the invention.

In the illustration given in Figs. 1 to 10, inclusive, 10 designates ya closure or cap adapted to rest upon and to be crimped about a bead carried by a container 11. The container 11 may be of the type shown in said Campbell Patent 2,236,491, and the cap 10 is adapted t-o be seated upon, and the lower portion thereof sealed about, a retaining bead on the container. The cap 10 may be -formed in any suitable shape and of any desired dimensions. In the structure shown, the cap is provided with an upper cylindrical portion 12 and with an enlarged skirt portion 13 thereb-elow. The top wall 14 `of the 4cap is initially a horizontal integral wall, and it is desired to form from this wall a disc portion which will have parts thereof extending below the plane of the top wa'll 14, while at the same time being releasable therefrom when it is desired to expose the top of the rubber plug or other closure in the container below the cap. I will now describe the operations which may be employed in forming from the single horizontal top wall 14, the closure disc referred to.

In the rst forming operation, the top wall 14 is subjected to a pressing operation which `stretches the metal and Iforms the concentric circular waves 15 and depres sions or grooves 16. It will be understood that the convolutions shown may be formed by drawing, pressing, Ior any suitable means, and that the shape of the raised and depressed portions may be modified widely as desired. A primary object is to provide an expansion of the metal in this central area so that in a subsequent pressing operation excess -metal will be provided for insertion below the peripheral portion of the top wall 14.

In the second operation, illustrated in Fig. 4, I slit the metal along the interrupted circular line 17. In this operation, it will be noted that the central portion of the top wall 14 is thus severed so as to provide a disc which remains fluted or waved, as illustrated best in Figs. 3 and 5.

The third step is a stamping or flattening step, in which the central disc polt-ion of the top wall 14 is subjected to pressure so as to Hatten the peripheral portion 18 of the central disc 19, leaving only the center of the disc'provided with the waves 15 or depressions 16. In'attening the peripheral portion of the disc 19, it will be obvious that an expansion of the metal laterally occurs. I-n the tlattening or expanding operation, the expanded edge 20 is brought below the horizontal peripheral portion of the top wall 14, as shown in Fig. 7, so as to lock the partially severed disc 19 thus below lthe peripheral ilange 14. I prefer also, in the stamping or flattening operation described, to extend the line 17 of severance at the points 21 so that they extend toward a side of the top wall 14. The slits 21 thus provided will cause the tab 19 to tear toward the side walls of the cap.

In the final step, illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and l0, I form another slit along the line 22, as shown more clearly in Fig. l0. The slit 22 forms in the disc 19 a ta'b 23, which furnishes a handle in the removal of the disc 19. The tab 23 is shown in raised position by dotted lines in `Fig. 9.

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Operation In the operation of the structure shown in Figs. l to 10, inclus-ive, the one-piece cap is formed by rst stretching the central portion of the top wall 14 of the cap by forming convolutions yor waves 15, severing a central portion of the top wall -along line 17 to form a disc, then ilattening atleast the peripheral portion of the disc 19 to extend the edges thereof below the overlying peripheral portion of the top wall 14, thus forming the interlock illustrated in Figs. 7 and 9. Simultaneously with the last operation, I

the tear `slits 21 are formed and also, if desired, in the same `or a subsequent operation, there may be formed the slit 21 which exposes the pull-tab 23.

The cap 10 formed as above described may then be inserted upon the container 11 and secu-red in position thereon by the usual crimping machine which interlocks a portion of the cap ange with a bead on the bottle or container. If desired, some of the operations above described may be performed after the cap has been secured upon the container. I prefer, however, to form the finished cap as shown best in Figs. 1 and 10 prior to the nal capping operation in which the cap is secured upon the container.

After the container has been capped and it has arrived at its destination and is to be opened, the user may grasp the' tab 23, pulling it upwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 9, so as to draw the disc 19 inwardly and release it from the overlying ilange provided by the top wall portion 14. The entire disc 19 may then be drawn toward the slits 21. As the tearing action continues beyond the slits 21, the metal tends to form a V-shaped notch which comes to a point near the edge of the top wall 14 and the entire disc 19 and the strip segment attached thereto may be removed. This leaves the top of the closure below cap 10 exposed so that the flexible seal thereon, if any, may be removed or so that tube or conduit connections may be made with passages in the closure for the removal of solutions, as described in said Campbell Patent 2,236,491, or for other uses.

In the -modied Iform of the invention illustrated in Fig. 11, the 4disc 19 is formed in the same manner `as disc 19 described above. The only difference is that the slit 24 extends in the opposite direction from the slit 22, Aand the resulting tab 2S, when drawn, will tend to bend toward the tear slits 21. Thus the drawing operation may continue in a single line toward the tear slits 21, this action serving to disengage the disc 19a simultaneously with the tearing Iof the strip toward the border of the top wall 14.

In the structure described, it will be noted that the central reinforcing or convolutions of the disc 19 or 19a provide a reinforcement tending to render the central p0rtion more rigid and less likely to ex Iand thus facilitating the exing of the disc along its peripheral edges during disengagement of the ydisc edges from the edges of the peripheral top wall portion 14. Further, the reinforcing provided by the central convolutions renders the pull-tab 23 or 25 itself more rigid and thus more effective in the removal of the disc.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have shown specific structures and methods -n considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure and method may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

l. A unitary cap structure having a cylindrical side wall and a top wall, said top Wall being severed partially to provide a central disc having expanded peripheral por-l tions underlying said top wall, said disc having a central portion parti-ally severed to provide a tab which normally lies in the plane yof said disc, but which may be drawn upwardly to provide a pull-tab for drawing said disc free of the top wall of said cap, and which upon being drawn further upwardly causes the said central disc to become detached from said cap structure without severing entirely said side wall.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the top wall is slitted about said central disc, with the slits thereof spaced apart at one end and leading toward the periphery of said top wall.

3. A closure cap comprising a cylindrical body having a top wall, a U-shaped disc portion stmck from said top wall, said disc portion having expanded peripheral edge portions extending under the edge portion of said top wall, a U-shaped pull-tab portion struck from the central portion of said disc portion whereby said pull-tab is adapted to be drawn upwardly to delete said disc portion from said cap without severing entirely the said side wall permitting said cap to remain rmly attached to a container to maintain a plug in the neck of the container.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 715,917 Whiton Dec. 16, 1902 1,075,125 Schmitt Oct. 7, 1913 1,170,152 Heath Feb. 1, 1916 1,472,093 Schull Oct. 30, 1923- 2,030,884 Mason et al. Feb. 18, 1936 2,162,182 Smith June 13, 1939 2,261,117 Jack Nov. 4, 1941 2,324,155 Haynes July 13, 1943 2,387,955 Tilson Oct. 30, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 494,283 Great Britain Oct. 24, 1938 

